Questions about the Vox as an eReader

[V10]

I'm looking at buying a new eReader (previously owned a Kobo Wireless), and I'm hoping to get some questions answered about the Vox.

I intend to use it almost exclusively as an eReader, all the rest of the bells and whistles are strictly secondary concerns.

I've been importing my library in through Calibre (editing a couple of my eBooks which were saved as nothing more than plain text files or with grievous OCR errors) with mixed results on my Kobo Wireless, which is where some of my questions stem from.

1. Does the Vox (and newer generations of eReaders in general) properly render embedded custom fonts?

2. I don't suppose there's an option for suppressing those annoying little ADE auto-generated page numbers on the right hand margin?

3. Is a wireless internet connection required to update the Vox (firmware, contents, etc.)? I simply refuse to participate in cloud software if I can help it. I want my files in my hands; that's why I refuse to touch the Kindle, no matter how much they swear they'll never delete customer's content again. But now I'm ranting...

4. My Kobo Wireless handles .CBR archives great, full screen, no annoying title bar taking up real estate. Can I expect the same of the Vox by default, or has that been left to user-installed apps?

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by V10

3. Is a wireless internet connection required to update the Vox (firmware, contents, etc.)? I simply refuse to participate in cloud software if I can help it. I want my files in my hands; that's why I refuse to touch the Kindle, no matter how much they swear they'll never delete customer's content again. But now I'm ranting...

Wireless is mandatory for the initial setup (and you won't be able to do it at any hotspot that requires a Web page to log in, such as at McDonald's). Dunno about afterwards.

[KoboJW]

Regarding question 1:
- For regular ePubs, in order to provide a consistent and controlled reading experience across all our content from a wide variety of publishers, we override the embedded fonts. Some of our apps do provide an option to use the publisher's fonts only, but that option is not available on Vox yet.

Regarding 3:
- Once you have set up and downloaded your library, there is no further requirement for an internet connection in order to read the books you own. They are stored on your device.

James

[pulsar]

The beauty of Kobo Vox is that you don't have to use the Kobo reader application (unless you read a book purchased from Kobo I guess) - there are many good ereading apks available on the web, and Kobo Vox lets you install them without any hacking.

[taming]

The beauty of the Kobo app is that with Kobo ePub (kepub) books you have Pulse and syncing features, that currently are not available using other formats. This is a 1.0 version of the app, but as I look at the development of the iOS and Touch reader apps, there will be some very neat features coming for our Vox app.

Now, if you use Aldiko on your phone and your Vox, and do not use a Kobo eInk device, this may not be a big deal to you as Aldiko can sync across devices as well. No Pulse though. Not sure if you can post to Facebook from it.

[Cdesja5]

You can connect to Facebook through the Aldiko Settings (tap on the Vox's home button to get to settings) and then chosing "Tell a Friend". You will be asked to login to FB and approve the usual permissions and then a box opens up with text that can be modified as you wish... tap "Share" and it's posted as a status update.

[V10]

Well now I'm that much more worried, browsing other threads here...

I don't have a wireless router, nor do any of my friends. Which means I need to make a special trip somewhere to find a hot spot that will work. A big enough nuisance to get the initial setup squared away, and a gold-plated pain in the @$$ if I need to do it on a regular basis. (As for why I own a Kobo Wifi model, the price was right and the wireless was an extra bell and whistle which could be completely ignored and worked around.)

I would be using this at home (where there is no wireless, as I said), or during commuting and traveling. I often work out in the boonies, several hours from any hot spot, not in a net cafe. Being tethered in any way to a wireless connection is a crippling flaw.

As for any of the social media aspects, I. DO. NOT. CARE. I cannot emphasize that enough. I do not want to update my status. I do not want to synch with anything. I do not want to post my high score of pages turned. I do not want to be badgered to connect to the server, or locked out of my library until I do. I just want to turn it on and read my books in an eye-pleasing manner, and I'm not yet convinced that I can even get that out of the Vox.

Reading apps at least sounds somewhat promising, but that raises it's own questions about long-term support and compatibility. Is it just a ponderous work-around or will it act as a full conversion or an OS overlay? Will it actually let me just pick up the eReader and start right in, or do I have spend several minutes starting and setting up the app each time? Can I browse my bookshelf, or am I just scrolling down a file list? I'm being asked to plunk down $200 and trust that a third-party aftermarket download will solve everything.

The more I read, the more I'm forced to pass on the Vox as a kludgey eReader more concerned about being an underpowered tablet for social butterflies than doing it's core job.

I just want an eReader that makes full use of eBook formats, a glorified RTF text file / basic HTML page, a document whose complexity has existed for, what?, at least 20 years. Why does this seem to cause such difficulty?

[Haesslich]

My advice - don't get the Vox. It's not targeted to you. If you don't care about buying books from the Kobo Store, you can sideload non-ADE DRM'd books. It will do the reading part fine, but that reading's done in an app that runs on the Android platform which acts as the underlying OS, just as the Kobo Desktop application runs atop Windows.

You can have the Kobo Vox go into the Library by default when turned on if you activate the setting 'Start into the Library' in the Android settings menu. You can browse the bookshelf in the Library just fine.

I personally suggest you try it out in the bookstore before you buy it, as your post otherwise sounds like trolling for the sake of trolling if you come into a thread JUST to bash a device. Especially since this is your SECOND POST EVER.

Or you could, y'know, just pick up a paper book and forget all the gadgetry. That works too.

And as a heads up, I can't think of any popular and easily obtainable reader which handles custom embedded fonts well. The PocketBook readers MIGHT, and I know if you use custom firmware the Sony T1 does... but most reader software won't. Aldiko, a third party Android reader, should be able to do so... but that'll involve more steps than you're willing to take with any reader. Perfect Viewer handles CBR fine, and without margins... but again, you're not interested in the steps it'll take to set it up.

[taming]

The beta we are testing for the Kobo Touch does recognize embedded fonts. You have to choose to do that as a font setting. And no, I still don't have a release date for it. We are on our 3rd beta build this go 'round.

[V10]

Originally Posted by Haesslich

My advice - don't get the Vox. It's not targeted to you. If you don't care about buying books from the Kobo Store, you can sideload non-ADE DRM'd books. It will do the reading part fine, but that reading's done in an app that runs on the Android platform which acts as the underlying OS, just as the Kobo Desktop application runs atop Windows.

You can have the Kobo Vox go into the Library by default when turned on if you activate the setting 'Start into the Library' in the Android settings menu. You can browse the bookshelf in the Library just fine.

Now are we talking about the default reading app that is built in, or third-party apps? And what happens when there's a hiccup and I need to do a factory reset, are they still there, or do I need to download them again? Can they be sideloaded independent of a wireless connection?

I personally suggest you try it out in the bookstore before you buy it, as your post otherwise sounds like trolling for the sake of trolling if you come into a thread JUST to bash a device. Especially since this is your SECOND POST EVER.

Would that I can find a store that does. I doubt they're terribly keen on people uploading their own files to their store demo models, installing apps, and so forth, to put it through its paces.

At first glance, the Vox looked to be exactly what I was looking for, a replacement for my barebones Kobo Wifi (gifted away when I expected to buy a new one). All that additional power, I figured that surely it would support fully-functional eBooks, how could it not? Disappointed as hell that really nothing has changed, 2 generations of devices later.

Or you could, y'know, just pick up a paper book and forget all the gadgetry. That works too.

I work out of construction and resource camps that make the Middle of Nowhere look like a metropolis, for weeks on end. Hauling around dozens of physical books in a ruck with my work gear isn't practical, chief.

And as a heads up, I can't think of any popular and easily obtainable reader which handles custom embedded fonts well. The PocketBook readers MIGHT, and I know if you use custom firmware the Sony T1 does... but most reader software won't. Aldiko, a third party Android reader, should be able to do so... but that'll involve more steps than you're willing to take with any reader. Perfect Viewer handles CBR fine, and without margins... but again, you're not interested in the steps it'll take to set it up.

I am interested in the steps to set such things up. My concern is whether I have to set it up every time I turn on the device, and how to accomplish it without an ever-present wireless signal.

[taming]

I use the WiFI when I am loading something new onto the device, or playing with the social parts of the Kobo app., checking mail, surfing the web etc.

I can load apps over a wired USB connection by dropping the apps into the downloads folder and installing from there once I have unmounted the USB storage. I prefer to do most of that wirelessly, but you can make another choice.

PS: You can also add your non-kepub books in over the USB cable. And I bet you can even add in the kepub files if you copy them from their home on your computer to their home on your Vox. I never tried this.

[kcarscadden]

You can certainly load books onto the Vox using USB, for the Kobo reading app, and for Aldiko, the one I am so far using most often. For Aldiko, the books can be moved to the internal SD card or the external SD card. If you have a reader on a PC for a mini-SD card, you could also load books directly onto the SD card.

Wifi is not required for loading or reading books. It is also not required for loading most apps. This can all be done using USB transfer. It may be required for some apps, but I so far don't know of any, even though my wifi is usually turned off (it saves battery to have it off).

I don't know about embedded fonts in the Aldiko ereader app. It does have a setting called "Advanced formatting - click to use publisher formatting", but I don't know what gets used and what is overridden by Aldiko. If you could point me to a book or send me one that you know uses embedded fonts or special formatting that you are interested in, I could try it for you. Just PM me.


Keith

[Alans]

I have tried to download Aldiko because so many people here have mentioned it but
when I try and *install* it keeps telling me it doesn't recognize my device. Any suggestions? I wrote to the company and they never got back to me.

[Cdesja5]

Use this link for Aldiko, several of us have tried it and it does work...

http://www.mediafire.com/?paslcmm6wklt1md

[TonyToews]

Originally Posted by V10

1. Does the Vox (and newer generations of eReaders in general) properly render embedded custom fonts?

2. I don't suppose there's an option for suppressing those annoying little ADE auto-generated page numbers on the right hand margin?

3. Is a wireless internet connection required to update the Vox (firmware, contents, etc.)?

I'd suggest the Kobo Touch then. Yes, it has Wifi but it's not necessary. I can't recall the last time I turned WiFi on my Touch. You can do everything required via the included USB cable similar to the WiFi.

And yes the Touch can suppress those annoying page numbers on the RHS. Mind you I don't see those in the Vox.